


Rookie

by ghostwriter00



Category: Pitch (TV 2016)
Genre: Baseball, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gen, MLB, Multi, Other, Trans, future smut, tw child abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-20
Updated: 2016-11-20
Packaged: 2018-09-01 02:35:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8603848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostwriter00/pseuds/ghostwriter00
Summary: Sahale is first ever trans player in the MLB, and he is now signed to the Padres.





	1. Chapter 1

_“Is MLB ready for their first transgender player? Well, I sure hope so because I’m here now.”_ he says laughing nervously before sending a wink to the reporter as he sits in front of the microphones and the camera’s flashing. It was all new to him. One moment he’s bagging groceries for his local market and the next moment he’s whisked away here to the a world so different than what he’s used to. The reporter smiles before nodding and stepping back. _“Do you think Ginny Baker opened the door for diversity in Major League Baseball, and do you think it changes the future of MLB?”_  one of the reporter asks holding up her recorder. _“Sahale Hawke Yadav-Kelly, 22, not the biggest or tallest, self-made man, lower middle class, person of colour, and from the middle of nowhere Arizona. It isn’t every day that opportunities land in your life like this. And 2 years ago if someone would’ve told me something like this would happen. That something like this would happen to that 19 year old severely depressed kid with a journal filled with kept broken dreams. A kid that had to take meds just to get through the day. Baseball was and still is my way out. I would’ve asked them why would they say something that is so impossible. Sorry, I’ve gotten a bit side-tracked. To answer your question. I absolutely think Ginny Baker opened the door for people who aren’t cisgender white men to be in the MLB. For kids that look like me with dark skin, for trans girls, for nonbinary babes,and for anyone who loves the game. I think that she is phenomenal in the way that she carries herself, and honestly is one of the best players I’ve ever seen. You can see her changing her techniques and the way that the game is played in its entirety. In a non creepy way, she reminds me of my mothers. They’re over there somewhere by the way. In the way that she gets so much flack just for being her. She has tons of people either expecting things from her, or waiting for her to fail. And through all of that she just goes out there and she just  gives it her all. ”_ he says looking out at the sea of people and waving at the two moms hugging each other. They’re standing there in matching #TeamSahale shirts looking like they’re going to cry at any moment. _“I’m looking forward to being on the team with everyone. They’re all fantastic. Go Padres. I’m being informed that we have time for one final question before the game.”_ Sahale says shifting slightly and leaning closer to hear the small reporter in the back of the room. _“Do you think that your transition will cause a rift between you and your teammates?”_ the reporter, apparently named Lena from SportsToday asks. _“Why would it? I’m sorry, that’s all the questions we have time for today. Thank you for your questions. I hope everyone enjoys tonight’s game..”_ Sahale says softly as he walk away from the table with disappointment etched across his face and Amelia trailing behind him. **  
**

_“What’s wrong?”_ Amelia asks the blonde right on his heels her phone in hand still scrolling through messages. _“I just don’t get why they still ask questions like that. It’s 2016. You’d think they’d be used to guys like me. She could’ve used her question to ask me “what’d I’d bring to the team as the new first baseman for the San Diego Padres” or “why did I choose baseball even though I was majoring in Astrophysics.”_ Sahale says as he runs his fingers through his long black hair before making his way into the locker room. He stops before walking in for the first time. _“But the only thing she did was try to use my transition as way to create some drama so that she can get a nice paycheck.”_  he says letting out a breath before leaning against the wall duffel bag slumped on the floor. _“Oh honey, they’re all snakes, that’s for sure. But they aren’t what’s important. What is important is that you’re here and you’re making your own little slice of history just by doing what you love. And the home that you’ve bought for Barb and Samantha is beautiful. You’ve already accomplished over half of the things you’ve set out to do.”_ she says pulling Sahale into a hug. _“Amelia, I didn’t take you for much of a ‘hugger’. She’s right, you know. Don’t listen to them. They just want to eat. I can’t even smile at someone without them writing an article about my wedding plans with the person. I’m glad to have you here on the team, Sahale. I’m sorry we couldn’t meet sooner, but you’re in good hands with Mama Bear Amelia.”_ Ginny says shaking his hand and smiling sweetly. _“It means a lot, thank you. I’m glad to be here. I would’ve loved to meet you sooner, but our schedules were completely different. But I believe a celebratory dinner tonight is in order?”_ Sahale asks returning the handshake. _“Cheeky, I like that and those things you’ve said about totally were not creepy. I’m flattered. It’s nice to see that somehow I’ve made a small change for the future. By the way, your moms are so cute. I had to get a selfie with both of them. Can you let Samantha know that we are still on for Scrabble night?”_ she says giggling and patting Sahale’s shoulder before walking into the locker room. _“I think this the closest I’m ever going to get to feeling like a proud mama. Are you excited? Everyone’s waiting to meet you. And I need you to remember that you deserve to be here just as much as all of the other players. Now, I want to see that sparkle in those beautiful hazel eyes.”_ she says before squeezing his shoulder and giving him a little shove inside.

The room goes silent as Sahale walks in and he swallows hard before giving everyone a nod on the way to his locker. _“I’ve been there, done that. They’re all just awkward baby penguins. Here we go, that’s Lumberjack Catcher aka Mike Lawson.”_ she says as Mike lets out a laugh and gives a nod to Sahale as he starts to get dressed. _“This person next to me and one of my boys from way back is Frozone aka Blip Sanders.”_ she says as Blip gives her the finger before leaning over her to talk to Sahale. _“What’s up man? I saw your press conference and the level of respect and patience you give to the reporters is inspiring because they asked some invasive ass questions.”_ he says shaking Sahale’s hand. _“Yeah, I sometimes have to distinguish between who’s trying to learn and who’s just trying to use me to get their next story. But being here is one of the most surreal moments of my life.”_ he says smiling and looking over at the next person Ginny points to. _“This guy is Mr. Pretty aka Mr.Show-Off aka Livan Duarte.”_ she says and Livan shakes his head before laughing. _“It seems that I may have some competition in that department. No te metas por ahí, novato.”_ he says before flashing a little smile and turning to his locker. _“He’s quite the intense one and my Spanish is rusty.”_ Sahale says turning to Ginny. _“Thank you for your hospitality. I’m gonna go get dressed.”_ he says before leaving Ginny’s locker and walking to his own. He turns and takes out his uniform. He stares at it for a while before it all dawns on him. That this is his life now and that this is actually happening to him. He takes a moment to say a small prayer for his other trans siblings that were not fortunate enough to stay longer on their journey before he takes off his shirt and sliding on the jersey. He notices some of the glances and he realizes they are looking at his scars on his chest. _“I took a nasty fall off of my bike once in the 3rd grade.”_ he jokes and everyone in the locker room starts to laugh and throw towels at him. _“It’s showtime. Everyone out on the field.”_ Al says as everyone runs out of the locker grabbing bats and gloves. _“How’re you feeling, kid?”_ Al says patting Sahale’s shoulder. _“Like I am going to vomit at any moment.”_ Sahale says honestly adjusting his hat. _“Good, now, use that adrenaline to help us win the game.”_ Al says grinning and walking off.

Nothing compared to this moment. It didn’t seem like any of this was real. It felt like at any moment someone was going to come and pull the mop from under his chin and tell him to stop daydreaming and get back to work. Shit like this doesn’t just happen every day. The crowd is cheering their names and there are people in the crowd with signs painted in the trans pride colors. He looked at a sign that said ** _‘Give Them Hale’_** in beautiful rainbow colors. Another sign said **_‘You Make Me Feel Like I Can Be Myself’_**. _“Hawke, it’s a little overwhelming isn’t it? Breathe in, Breathe Out, you’ve got this. You’ve got this.”_ Ginny says before running into the dugout.

The game went by in a blur of score board lights, uniform numbers, and enough gum to have an entire pack by the end of the day. He wasn’t perfect out there and he didn’t expect to be on his first day, but it is an experience he knows he will never be able to forget. And it didn’t hurt that the Padres won the first game of the season. _“I would go out for drinks, but I’m dead tired and right now Evelyn’s lasagna and at least 14 hours of sleep sounds real nice.”_ Blip says and everyone laughs at him as he stuffs his uniform into his locker. _“Unlike Blip I am not a grandpa. I would love to show you youngsters what clubbing is really like, but Amelia said if we won this game. There would rewards and I’m not missing out on that for you.”_ Mike says jokingly to them before kissing  the top of Ginny’s head and leaving. _“I guess that just leaves us? You still owe me dinner by the way.”_ Ginny says smiling and nudging Sahale. _“Of course, let me just call the moms and make sure they’re okay with their hotel situation. I’ll be down to pick you up from your hotel room in 30.”_ he says before turning and shoving all of the things into his locker.

After a quick shower and redressing Sahale felt pretty damn confident in the black button up, leather jacket and matching black jeans. **_“Bun or no bun?”_** he whispers to himself before huffing. ** _“It’s not a date.”_** he says to himself again as he decides to go with the high bun. Testosterone was finally doing it’s job and the beard was coming in nicely after about 2 years of little fuzz everywhere. He takes a deep breath before putting his phone and his wallet in his pocket. He wasn’t sure if it was the adrenaline left over from his first game, or the fact that he was about to have dinner with Ginny Baker when he was used to seeing her on the TV in the market. He knocks on the door and when it opened it felt as though the wind had been knocked out of him. She was standing there in a little black dress that had lace on the sweetheart neckline. The red lipstick just brought everything together and he thought his legs were probably going to give on him. _“You clean up nicely.”_ she says smiling and locking her door. _“You look like a barbie-not in saying that you’re fake-I just meant that you look flawless. Permission to remove my foot from my mouth now.”_ Sahale says blushing a deep shade of red. He looks up completely surprised by the loud laugh Ginny lets out as she holds her stomach. _“I’m glad you find my bumbling humorous.”_ Sahale says embarrassed as Ginny shakes her head. _“Nah, it’s cute. Do you know how many cocky jerks I meet on a daily basis? A little bumbling and stuttering here and there is refreshing.”_ she says as they both begin to walk down to the driver waiting outside. _“How are there paparazzi at this hour?”_ Sahale says turning towards Ginny and hiding her in his shoulder. _“Ginny over here, over here please! Ginny are you cheating on longtime girlfriend Cara, Cara is her name isn’t it?”_ the paps yell and Ginny looks over at them frowning. _“We’re just friends, pal. Just two teammates going out for celebratory dinner. Have a nice night, brother.”_ Sahale says turning away and hiding Ginny in his jacket as they rush to the car. _“You handled yourself nicely back there. And just for clarification. One drunken New Year’s Eve kiss doesn’t make Cara my girlfriend. She just happens to be my best friend even though anyone would be lucky to have her.”_ Ginny says quietly. _“You don’t have to explain anything to me. Those paps are just vultures. So, since you’re the native here. Can you tell me where should we go? I’m a burger and fries kind of guy so I’m not too sure about anything fancy.”_ Sahale says and the rest of the car ride goes smoothly. 

Between the cracking  jokes and bonding over the fact that they’ve both had a pretty rocky childhood they somehow ended up in Ginny’s hotel room with a bottle of something cheap and laughing hysterically at a late night episode of Bob’s Burgers. _“The Belcher kids give no fucks and that honestly inspires me. I kinda want a love like Bob and Linda. She just told them that he’s dead so that they wouldn’t bother him anymore.”_ Ginny says as she looks down at Sahale sleeping on her leg. _“Alright, well, Goodnight partner.”_ she says turning off the light and pulls the blanket over him.


	2. Rookie Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sahale and Ginny opens up to each other. Things aren't perfect, but they are a lot better than they used to be.

_“Morning.”_ Sahale groaned as he stretched and opened his eyes slowly to catch Ginny staring at him. _“Sorry, you just looked so peaceful, but you talk in your sleep. Is this place that you speak of as beautiful as it sounds?”_ she says before shaking her head. _“Sorry, again, that was probably really intrusive wasn’t it?”_ she says biting her lip. _“No, you’re good. I apologize for falling asleep on you last night. It’s probably too late for me to mention that I’m a lightweight.. For some reason, I always dream of this sort of utopia. It’s filled with big beautiful emerald trees and the water is as blue as the sky. There I get to talk to my grandma and things seem to be okay again.”_ he says as they both sit in silence for a moment as Ginny takes in everything. _“You know, I get dreams like that too sometimes. Where things are almost the way they were back then. My father, he’s there and he’s telling me to work harder and to be the best and suddenly I’m out there on the field and he’s there with his mouth in a straight line before he’s yelling at me to be better. But we always argue and right before it ends he tries to tell me how sorry he is. He once said that my youth was lost to the game and before I could answer. Poof, he was gone again.”_ she says looking down at the white sheets. _“I think that could be a way of you trying to figure out how to give yourself closure.”_ Sahale says rolling over next to her and fixing her pillow. _“You want some pancakes? If you have the mix. I make some really nice dinosaur ones.”_ Sahale says before sitting up and trying to find his hair tie that somehow came off during his solo performance of **_‘I Will Survive’_** on Ginny’s hotel room couch. _“That sounds really nice, but we have practice in an hour and I’m sure you’re going to want to shower and stuff? But I’m taking you after practice to experience the best hot dogs you’ve ever had in your life.”_ she says smiling softly. _“You’ve got a deal.”_ Sahale says before slipping on his shoes and waving goodbye. **  
**

_“Come on, don’t make a big deal about this. Friends can have sleepovers. She is a human being and she deserves respect.”_ Sahale says being bothered by the paps that are now following him from the lobby and asking him why he spent the night in Ginny’s hotel room. _“We figured this would happen. That girl has got a checklist: Drake, random waitress, and half of her teammates probably.”_ one of the shorter balding paps say as he holds the camera in Sahale’s face and he stops dead in his tracks. _“I’m going to tell you right now for the last time. To shut your fucking mouth and don’t open again unless it’s nothing but praise and admiration for her. She’s endured way too much bullshit, and have worked way too hard to be here for some sleazy failed reporter with coffee stains all over his wrinkled shirt to belittle her like this. Now, you all have a nice day.”_ he says before moving away from the small group of camera flashes. Not even 30 minutes later his phone is constantly buzzing with messages and calls from his moms and Amelia. _“Sahale speaking.”_ he says tiredly into the phone as he sits it on the counter and brush the taste of bagel bites and cheap wine away from his mouth. _“What the hell is going on? Don’t tell me that you two-”_ Amelia says before she is cut off. _“Good morning to you too Amelia. I’m assuming that they’ve already put up those **false** stories.”_Sahale says putting emphasis on the false and rolling his eyes. _“It’s everywhere and good to know that it isn’t true. We can’t mix business with personal life. That’s not how this works, Sahale. I know that you mean well, but we can’t have you popping off at every pap that says something nasty. It’s their job to try and get a rise out of you.”_ Amelia explains and Sahale lets out a frustrated huff. _“What was I supposed to do? Let them say those things about her. They were practically slut-shaming her.”_ he says shaking his head. _“You just keep walking. Let them say whatever they’re going to say and you don’t pay their bills for them.”_ Amelia says on the other end. _“I’ve got to go. I have to shower before practice. I’ll talk to you after.”_ Sahale says ending the call and letting out a sigh.

The walk into the locker room was uncomfortable and awkward. He let out a relieved breath when he realized he was the first one there. _“Shut your fucking mouth.”_ Blip Sanders says as he walks over to nudge Sahale. _“Finally, it was about time somebody told them something and plus have you read what people are saying though? They’re applauding you for standing up for her.”_ Blip says as he nods respectively at him before moving to his locker. _“I ain’t a hero. Just sick of their stuff already. It was just a sleepover.”_ Sahale says pulling out his glove. **_“Cállate la puta boca!”_** Livan says laughing as he walks into the locker room. _“Do you know how many times I’ve wanted to tell them that? How many disrespectful questions I get from them? One even asked me how do I feel about Donald Trump becoming president-elect. I could tell what she really wanted to ask me. They’re leeches that won’t stop. I’m obviously not going to back a Cheeto as dangerous and ignorant as he is. He believes in grabbing women by the kitty and he believes that immigrants “from all over” are killers and rapists that are coming to this country. That was posted to Huffington Post. That’s why I messed around with them. I answered the entire interview in Spanish. But he can find another puppet to back him because I am not the one. Good job, rookie.”_ Livan says before putting hanging up his bag. _“Rookie, my man, rule number one. Don’t give a shit about whatever they say to you. It’ll blow over with a little damage control. It’ll be alright.”_ Mike says squeezing his shoulder before walking to his locker. Sahale stops talking when he sees Ginny walk into the locker room after everyone else arrives. She walks over to him and stands there for a moment trying to figure out what to say. _“I’m sorry. I have a lot of patience, but it was wearing thin with him. I didn’t mean for it to be all of this.”_ Sahale says sliding on his cleats as he waits for Ginny’s response. _“Thank you.”_ Ginny says simply before kissing his cheek and walking to her locker as Sahale nods and watch her walk away. **_“What?”_** Sahale says to them raising an eyebrow before they shake their head snickering like primary school children.

 _“What happened back there on the field?”_ Sahale asks on the elevator ride up to meet Amelia after practice for a brief meeting. _“Distracted, I guess.”_ Ginny says focusing on the numbers of the floors going up and trying to take herself away from the thought of baseball for a moment. _“Spill it.”_ he says waiting for her as he leans against the elevator wall. _“Okay, I’m just used to either being a beacon of hope. This perfect iconic-historical person when I never asked to be. Or either I’m a girl who goes and sleeps her way to the top to gain fame and publicity. It’s always something. I can’t ever just be Ginny Baker. I’ve got to be either Ginny Baker the ball player or Ginny Baker the slut. You can imagine the field day they had after the pictures were leaked. It’s my damn body, my damn choices. I could be all of those things if I wanted, but why is it any of their business? You know?”_ Ginny says as she shakes her head and tries to calm down as she feels her palms becoming sweaty and her heart starts to race. _“I know it all too well.”_ he says rubbing her back and picking up on the oncoming panic attack. _“It seems as if I’ve become a wikipedia for all things LGBTQ-related when I can’t even speak for everyone in the community, or the educator on everything about oppression. I will always accept and acknowledge my upbringing and background, but that’s not all there is to me.”_ Sahale says and opens his bag to give Ginny a bottle of cold water as the elevator door opens. _“Being a minority in the public eye will never be fully ‘comfortable’. There will always be some stigma attached to us. But to be honest; where are they and where are we?”_ he says lifting her chin. _“Chin up, buttercup.”_ he says looking into her eyes and she nods. _“You’re okay?”_ Amelia asks knowing what is going on as she meets them in the hallway. Ginny nods and drinks down the water slowly as Amelia goes over the schedule for the next days. _“I’ve figured out a way to do damage control on this. You both will be joining Amber Rose in this year’s slut-walk and you both have a meeting scheduled with Nike tomorrow, 5 Gum corporation on Tuesday at 8:25 am, and interviews with Sports Center on Wednesday at 10:00.”_ she says looking through the list. _“Do not be late. I love you and I’ll see you for dinner tonight. Stay out of trouble.”_ she says giving them both a hug before turning on her red heels to her next task. _“I’m  starving and you owe me a hot dog, but I’ll make an exception. I’ve ordered pizza and I want to show you something.”_ Sahale says before leading her to the elevator.

After grabbing the pizza and drinks that were delivered to the lobby. He takes Ginny into the back of the hotel and nods towards the direction of the old ladder in the corner. _“You’re fine. Trust me, I’m right behind you.”_ he says reassuringly as she raises an eyebrow and moves up the ladder carefully. She reaches over the side to help him with the food and drinks as he makes his way up. _“Look”_ he says pointing out at the overlook of everything from buildings to small ponds and everything else. _“This is nice. It’s peaceful. You’re quite the adventurer aren’t you?”_ she says playfully before sitting down and opening the boxes of pizza. _“Well, you’ve already seen me drunk and singing show tunes so I’m way past being embarrassed now. Ask away.”_ he says chomping down on the gooey cheese pizza feeling somewhat ‘normal’ again. _“You want kids someday?”_ Ginny asks as she sips her lemonade. _“I’d like to have 3 or 4 with my wife hopefully, biologically, and I would really like to adopt. Because my moms are the best, and if I hadn’t known their love I don’t know what would have happened to me. I’m told that my birth parents weren’t exactly the nicest people. But I only have small fragments and bits I remember of them.”_ Sahale says to her and he makes note of how close she pays attention to him as if she’s only focusing on him and what is being told to her. He can see the change in emotions written across her face as she listens. _“I would like to adopt too. There’s a lot kids out there who could use a loving stable home.”_ she says agreeing with him. _“You said that you lost your youth to baseball. Why is that?”_ Sahale asks shifting back on one of the posts on the roof. _“I didn’t choose for myself. My father made it very clear to me from a young age that it was baseball vs everything else. There wasn’t any room for friends or lovers or even dances. Everything had to be baseball if I was going to be the best.”_ she says putting down her slice of pizza. _“He just became so obsessed with it. It was like everything fell in line behind it. Even our family began to come second to the sport. I couldn’t at the time understand why my mother would rather be with anyone besides my father, but then I realized. He wasn’t really being my father or her husband anymore. He was just Coach Bill. And I’m not justifying what she did, but it was rough not really having him there.”_ she says looking out over parts of the city. _“I think he should’ve given you the chance to decide for yourself. No matter how good you are at something. If your heart isn’t in it. It just won’t ever be fulfilling enough. It would only ever be a time filler. I didn’t even know that baseball was something I’d be good at. It just kind of happened during a charity pickup game. Mama B said it was the first time in years she seen me genuinely interested in something. So, it just kind of snowballed from there. I was in a dark place back then. Depression just kind of consumed me in a way that I only spiraled downward. I couldn’t eat or sleep. I would just spend hours in my room trying to figure out how to not feel so numb and broken. I started to think for a long time that the whole deal with my birth parents was my fault. It kind of fucked me up for a while.”_ he admitted as he shakes his head. _“They definitely missed out someone so kind and talented. Your true parents could not love and adore you more. And the fact that you have an older brother who is literally one of the coolest is a plus. You have a family that loves you, and it has just gotten even bigger with the rest of the Padre’s added to it.”_ Ginny says squeezing his hand. _“I guess you could say at times our parents really, striked out.”_ Sahale says trying to lighten the mood. And Ginny lets out a loud snort at the awful joke before she starts to laugh harder at how bad it was. Sahale looks down at Ginny when he notices her laughter turned into crying and he holds her closer to him and hums softly. _“Let it out.”_ he says gently _. “I’m sorry. I don’t know how I always meet people this way.”_ she says wiping the tears. _“You have nothing to be sorry for. You have the right to feel.”_ he says softly. _“If I remember correctly you have an appointment with your therapist in about 20 minutes. I could take you if you want?”_ Sahale offers and she sniffles before looking at him. _“How much did I say last night? But it’s okay I’ll see you tonight for dinner with Amelia and the Lumberjack.”_ she says to Sahale before pressing a soft kiss to his cheek as a thank you for lunch and leaving.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading it. It's only second fic so it means a lot!


	3. Rookie : Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ginny learns a lot more about Sahale's background.

2 months flew by in the blink of eye. Countless games, signed posters, and hundreds of interviews later it was time to go home for a week. Hotel rooms are nice when it’s new and exciting, but after a while it gets lonely without family or friends. He was just happy to be able to see some familiar faces. He was more than grateful for the new family that he had made, but he wanted his bed and his WWE posters. _“Hey, you got a minute?”_ Ginny says as Sahale opens the door with a towel wrapped around his waist and a toothbrush still in his mouth. He was hopping around the room looking for his other sock and lost deep in his thoughts before she knocked. _“I do, come in. Just give me a moment to not look like this.”_ he says motioning towards his messy wet hair sticking to his ribcage. He smirked to himself when he catches her following his happy trail down to the top of his towel before turning away to the bathroom. _“What’s on your mind, Curls?”_ he asks through the bathroom door as he dresses and she shares with him her qualms about going home and her mother’s not-so-new-boyfriend being there. _“I wish that I go somewhere else. Maybe Cara would be up for another road trip if she could time off.”_ she says as she lays across his hotel room bed and he opens the door. _“You have a serious thing for black, don’t you? Brand New? Is that a band?”_ she asks as she tries to play it cool as if she isn’t checking him out from head to toe. She even noticed the way the beanie matched the dark grey of his jeans. _“Yeah, they make pretty interesting music. So, is this guy the same one from your stories back in the day? That could be awkward and uncomfortable. You did tell mom that you owed her a Scrabble night, and they would love to have the company. The house is big enough for all of us. We could spend the week there, then catch a flight back to see your family for the weekend if you’d like.”_ he asks as he slides on his watch and watch her from the doorway as her face lights up. _“That’s perfect. I just have to book the flight with you for later on today.”_ she says before walking over to him to hug him. She looks up at him before leaning in to kiss him. Her phone buzzes in her pocket causing her to jump slightly and land a kiss on the side of his lips. He chuckles softly before raising an eyebrow. _“Trevor._ ” she says more to herself and he looks down at her phone. _“Trevor.”_ he repeats feeling a bit naive about the whole thing in thinking that he could have some sort of fairytale with her. They were nothing more than teammates and that’s how things should be. He’s not going to sweep her off of her feet and there isn’t going to be a fancy horse and carriage style wedding. _“I’m going to go answer this call. I’ll see you this afternoon before our flight.”_ she says before turning to leave. He shoves the remainder of his stuff in the suitcases before lugging it into one pile in the room before making his rounds to say bye to everyone before they leave for their week off. _“Alright, break it up you two.”_ he says laughing as he catches Amelia and Mike lip-locking on the outside of his room. _“Did I have tell you how incredible your timing is?”_ Amelia says playfully before pulling Sahale into a hug. _“Be good this week, don’t go out threatening any paps.”_ she says ruffling his hair. _“I won’t make any promises, mom.”_ he says to her before shrugging. _“When did you go from shy little college ball player to a man, a pro baseball player defending the girl he’s clearly in like with.”_ she says gossiping like a high-schooler. _“What is this? We aren’t doing this.”_ Sahale says blushing before turning to walk away. _“Bye Hale.”_ Mike calls after him.

 _“What’s going on with you and Ginny?”_ Blip asks as they stand outside of his hotel room in the hallway. _“Why does that seem to be the topic of the day today? We are just friends. Besides, she’s still into that other guy, Travis?”_ Sahale says pettily as he shift and digs the tip of his shoe in the carpet. _“Trevor? Nah man, she doesn’t look at him the way she looks at you. With you, she does the flippy hair thing and she makes sure that you’re watching when she walks across the field. Plus Evelyn told me if you don’t date her she’s going to, and I can’t be losing my wife to Ginny.”_ Blip says laughing before nudging Sahale’s shoulder slightly. _“I think you should invite her to be your date to the Sports Center event before Livan does. Evelyn’s outside. I’ll catch you later.”_ he says to Sahale before fist bumping him and walking away. He lets out a huff and answers his phone when Ginny calls. _“I’ll meet you in the lobby in 5.”_ he says before hanging up.

After staring down paps and making sure Ginny is tucked securely into his side they board the plane and settle in with their headphones and decide on the movie they would watch together. _“You’ve never seen Beasts of The Southern Wild?”_ Sahale asks her as she shakes her head no and snuggles into his shoulder.

 _“Why would you recommend this? You’re a literal monster, and I am in tears and wanting to adopt Hush Puppy. I will never let you pick the movie again.”_ Ginny says after finishing the movie as she wipes the tears from her cheeks. _“I’m sorry, but I think it’s an underrated cinematic masterpiece.”_ he says to her before giving her a tissue out of his small carryon bag. She sniffles and gladly accepts the tissue before settling back into her seat. _“I wanted to apologize for this morning. It was just kind of a spur-of-the moment kind of thing. I do that sometimes, but I shouldn’t have.”_ Ginny says to him before answering a text. _“No, it’s okay I had already forgotten about it.. So, the Sports Center Charity event thing. Are you going?”_ Sahale tries to ask casually. _“Yeah, Trevor and I talked things out during that call and I understand that he wasn’t apart of the leak. Most of his private pictures were leaked as well, and then he asked me if I’d be his date for it. I guess it should be fun.”_ she says almost as if she’s asking. The way she looks at him is almost as if she’s waiting for him to oppose the idea. _“Oh, I’m glad you two worked on things and sure, raising awareness and money for disabled players will always be a good time.”_ Sahale says giving her the biggest fake smile he can muster but he’s sure it just comes out as his mouth awkwardly stuck in a straight line. _“Thank you, for being such a great friend to me in such a short time. It has only been almost 3 months, but it feels like I’ve known you for much longer.”_ she says patting his hand. _“I feel the same way, homie.”_ Sahale says finally adjusting his neck pillow and leaning his seat back.

He awakes with a loud gasp and his forehead dripping with sweat. _“Damn it.”_ he says checking through his bags for his anxiety medication with shaking hands and Ginny helps him find it before asking the stewardess for a bottle of water. _“Thank you. I’m alright now. I just- it happens sometimes.”_ Sahale says not wanting to leave the horrific flashback in his dreams left open for discussion. _“We encourage everyone to stay in their seats. We are about to land.”_ the pilot says over the intercom. Ginny nods as she looks at him and grabs a small napkin to dab his forehead. _“No problem”_ she says smiling sweetly at him. For now she’ll drop the fact that he very clearly mumbled _“hurting me”._

After the unnerving moment on the plane Ginny and Sahale waits for his parents to pick them up from the airport and he drops everything as he sees two tiny women holding signs that says **_“WE ARE HERE FOR THE HALESTORM AND THE BAKER”_**. _“Mamas”_ he calls out to them before first scooping Mama B into his arms and then mom. _“2 months is too long and we’ve been missing our boy.”_ Samantha says to him as she ruffles his hair and place kisses all over his head. _“The lion mane is still going strong with this one.”_ Mama B says to him pointing to his little wavy strands of hair sticking up in all directions. _“Ginny! I can not tell you how excited we were to hear that you were going to be joining Hale on this trip. I didn’t think you could be more beautiful, but here you are practically glowing.”_ Barb says pulling Ginny into a gentle hug. _“Holy moly, talk about glowing. Look at you, which glow kit are you using. I need to know and these red highlights. Was this Samantha’s idea? Either way it looks fabulous.”_ Ginny says as she accepts the hug before they start to walk to the car. _“Mai is still in school right now? I can’t wait to see the look on her face when she comes home.”_ Sahale says excited for being with his family and people who know him. _“Our little girl adores you, Ginny. For her 14th birthday she would not stop leaving hints around the house that she wanted a custom made Ginny Baker jersey, and then you can imagine who she was for Halloween.”_ Samantha says laughing. _“I love her already, and this family is already beyond gorgeous. So I know that Mai is stunning.”_ Ginny says before going silent when she hears ‘Closer’ playing on the playlist. _“It was Barb’s idea she’s all for the sappy pop music.”_ his mom says before tapping along to the beat. _“Oh hush I proposed to you with a sappy pop song and you said yes faster than I could say ‘me’.”_ Barb teases and the drive goes along smoothly with Sahale answering texts from his friends and Ginny sharing a bit of banter with Barb and Samantha. Sahale is staring out the window humming along to ‘Who You Love’ by Katy Perry/John Mayer. _“My girl she ain’t the one that I saw coming. Sometimes I don’t know which way to go. And I tried to run before, but I’m not running anymore. Cause I’ve fought against it hard enough to know. That you love, who you love, who you love.”_ Barb, Samantha, and Sahale sing together and Ginny looks around the car in shock at all three of them. _“You have got to be kidding me. How do all of you sound like angels? I mean I’ve heard Hale sing show tunes before, but now I see where he gets it from.”_ she says still taken aback by all of them. _“Mom is a theatre arts teacher, and Mama B was in her school choir through high school and college. I didn’t stand a chance growing up.”_ Sahale says laughing. _“Come on Ginny don’t be shy.”_ Sam says to her and singing the chorus until the next verse comes up. _“My boy he ain’t the one that I saw coming, but some have said his heart is too hard to hold. It takes a little time, but you should see him when he shines. Because you never wanna let that feeling go. When you love , who you love, who you love.”_ Ginny sings majorly off key and keeping eye contact with Sahale throughout the entire verse. He doesn’t know how but along the way he gets lost in her eyes and the way that she’s staring at him like he’s the only person left on Earth before blushing and looking away from her. _“I think Katy Perry would be proud.”_ Sahale jokes.

Of course knowing his parents a 4 course meal would already be cooked by the time they arrived. Sahale stood back with his luggage and some of Ginny’s as Jack opens the door. _“Jack Micah Yadav-Kelly, how the hell are you?”_ Sahale says to his older brother before he pulls him in for a hug. The man was tall, broad, and looked a lot like Barb. The thing that stood out about him were his eyes. One of his eyes happen to be brown and the other was a shade of cerulean. _“Nice to meet you too, Ginny. I feel like I would’ve dressed better if I had known a superstar would be coming.”_ he says flashing a smile and Sahale hits him playfully in the side. _“What the hell am I?”_ he asks stepping inside with Ginny giggling behind him. _“Why don’t you show Ginny around while we will reheat the food?”_ Barb asks as they all walk into the kitchen.

 _“This is where I moved all of my things into after I both this home for them. So basically this is what my childhood bedroom looked like.”_ he says standing in front of the water bed. _“I can already see you judging, but I was the coolest kid in school for having this bed.”_ Sahale jokes as Ginny looks around the room at all of the framed pictures of him with Mai, Jack, and Barb and Samantha. _“You were the cutest little toothless child, and that high ponytail is a look.”_ Ginny says holding the frame and poking her tongue at him. _“But I can’t help but to feel like Destiny’s Child and Trish Stratus are watching me.”_ she says pointing to the WWE poster hanging up on the wall. _“Pssh, no one could convince me that Kelly and I weren’t going to get married.”_ He says chuckling. _“Come on, I’ll show you where you’ll be sleeping.”_ he says to her as he turns to walk down the hall. _“This is it. They decided to decorate this one with a tropical holiday theme. I don’t know, they’re strange, but you have everything you need here. I’m starving though so I’ll leave you to getting settled in.”_ he says to Ginny before leaving her to it. As soon as Mai opens the door to their home she wastes no time with the theatrics as she drops her bag and slow motion runs over to him. _“It has only been 2 months.”_ Sahale says to her as he spins her around. _“I’ve got someone I want you to meet.”_ he says as he looks over her shoulder and sees Ginny standing on the stairs. _“Hi Mai, okay I just need to put this out there. Why is everyone in this family so beautiful and your shirt is so cute.”_ Ginny says as the girl standing in front of her with the beautiful dark skin similar to Sahale’s and large chestnut eyes. lets out a squeal. _“You’re Ginny Baker. I got it from Forever 21. Do you know how awesome you are? Why’re you here in Flagstaff?”_ She babbles and she instantly grabs her phone asking for a selfie. _“Sometimes small towns are nice.”_ Ginny says smiling and sitting down to have a chat with her before she leaves for her best friend’s sleepover.

After everyone settles in after dinner is over Barb pulls out a scrapbook with a photo of her and Samantha. _“I met Sam in a lesbian dive bar back in the 80s. I believe I was around the age you are now. She was this prissy little thing with her nose in the air and she ordered the daintiest drink as she sat in the corner incognito with her giant sunglasses, red lipstick, and a large hat. I knew that we were from the same college and that her face looked familiar from all of the games, but I couldn’t  for the life of me figure out why she would be here of all places. She had the guys falling at her feet with just flick of her pom pom. I, naturally being the nosy little shit I am left my friends strutting over there like a damn peacock to her. After I had just watched all of the women be shot down by her. And back then there weren’t any youtube videos to help with this sort of thing. So, I just go over to her and I tell her “Lean on Me or The Breakfast Club?”_ Barb says facepalming as she tells the story and Samantha lets out a snort-cackle at the question. _“That was her exact reaction that night too, but luckily for me that line worked. It worked very well.”_ Barb says and Samantha whacks her with a pillow. _“Thanks for getting your black lipstick on my dress. That was a major pain in the ass to get out.”_ Samantha says to her and Sahale and Jack flee the scene. _“That is one hell of a story. We need our own tv show. **‘Interracial Women Of Colour Lesbians of Flagstaff’**.”_ Barb says laughing heartily at her own idea. _“Moms no, this is our cue to go. We are going to go. We will be back in a bit. Pierce knows that Hale’s back in town and wants him to meet his fiancee.”_ Jack says before Sahale makes sure that Ginny is okay with it. She nods toward the door and smiles back at him. _“Is this Hale? He looks so small. He’s about maybe 4 here? His bowl cut game is on point.”_ Ginny says holding up the picture of Sahale holding a piece of paper and flashing a toothless grin. _“Yes that’s him. My hair cutting skills have gotten significantly better since then. He had just turned 5 and we surprised him with the adoption papers. He had always been our son, but those papers finalized it.”_ Samantha says softly looking over at Barb. _“He had been my student since preschool. I remember he would always come to class with a smile on his face and ready to learn and he was the kindest child. His parents were practically monsters. They did so much harm to him and he would still come to school willing to learn and be gentle with others. We realized what they were doing when we seen him rapidly falling in the underweight category and his accidents didn’t seem like accidents anymore. I just feel so stupid for how oblivious I was. How couldn’t I have noticed it sooner? The signs were there, but I look at Jack and I think how could someone do things so horrific to their child.”_ Barb says as her voice breaks and the tears roll down her cheek. _“Honey, it’s not your fault.“_ Samantha says pulling her into a hug. Ginny sits there as her body goes numb and she pieces it all together and shakes her head. _“When he said that his birth parents weren’t the nicest people I just thought that maybe they were strict, but- oh my god. Where are they now?”_ Ginny asks _“Incarcerated.”_ Samantha says with a grimace across her face. _“Where they should be.”_ Ginny says before looking through the rest of the pictures.

The storm came out of nowhere that night and Ginny was not expecting it to be this loud. She tried just ignoring it, but thunder was never her thing. She tiptoed down the hall to Sahale’s bedroom before knocking softly. _“What’s wrong?”_ Sahale asks looking at her through one squinted eye. _“I can’t sleep. Why didn’t you tell me there was a hurricane hitting Arizona?”_ she says to him before making her way into the room. _“The toughest girl I know is scared of a little rain?”_ He asks chuckling softly. _“I can be tough and scared of thunder. Are you gonna let me in or continue to make fun of me?”_ she asks as he shifts and leaves her space on the bed. It awkwardly jiggles and she rolls on the opposite side of him. _“Before you ask, no, I don’t sleep in pajamas. So don’t be weird about it.”_ He mumbles to her half asleep. _“Wait, wait, exactly many girls have been on this bed?”_ She asks leaning on her elbow and staring down at him. _“One,now can I sleep, please?”_ he says groggily to her before pulling the blanket up to her chin. Another round of thunder sounds off and she pulls the blanket higher wrapping herself up like a burrito. _“You weren’t faking? Come here, okay, I’ll be your ‘Thunder Buddy’.”_ he says holding his arms open for her. He starts to sing softly to her. _“Forever can never be long enough for me. To feel like I’ve had long enough with you. Forget the world now we won’t let them see.”_ He could do this forever, with her, if she’d let him. But the reality of it all is that the thunder will stop and everything will go back to normal. The motto is to not get attached. She is free to make her own decisions. But he’s just glad to have someone like her in his life even if it has to be platonic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading beautiful humans!

**Author's Note:**

> As always, thank you for reading!


End file.
